Money for Research

As Neal F. Lane makes clear, most Americans have benefited from basic research, from both a health and an economic standpoint. But many people think that federally financed research takes place only in the federal labs and at agencies like the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.

In fact, tax dollars for research are distributed on a peer-reviewed basis to every state and nearly every district in the country, sustaining good jobs and driving our economy. Research has created new industries like biotechnology that have turned economically depressed communities around.

Unfortunately, money for research and development is on the decline, putting our global competitiveness at risk. Congress has come together before for research and can again; it’s especially important that the lame-duck session after the election overcome partisan divides and that lawmakers make decisions to keep our country strong by keeping science high on the priority list.

JOHN EDWARD PORTER
Alexandria, Va., Oct. 31, 2012

The writer, chairman of Research!America, a health research advocacy group, represented Illinois’ 10th Congressional District from 1980 to 2001.